Superstorm Death Count Reaches 135

Sandy’s death toll in the U.S. has risen to 135, according to tallies from individual counties and states, with 60 deaths in New York now credited to the superstorm.

“As medical examiner’s reports have come in from individual counties, we’ve seen the number rise,” said Rich Azzopardi, a spokesman for New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo who provided updated numbers on Monday.

County medical examiners say many of the deaths were storm-related, such as from trimming trees or from carbon-monoxide fumes from generator use, but not directly caused by the storm. Those deaths count in New York’s overall total, although that isn’t the case in all jurisdictions.

“Let’s say someone was trimming trees after the storm,” said Grace Kelly-McGovern, a spokeswoman for the Suffolk County Medical Examiner’s Office. “That’s related to the storm.”

New York City’s death toll has remained at 43 for more than a week, but additional deaths have trickled in from Nassau and Suffolk counties as medical-examiner investigations conclude. The counties are now responsible for six each, state figures show.

Three deaths have been reported in Westchester County, and there is one apiece in Rockland and Ulster County. Staten Island leads all New York areas with 23 storm-related deaths.

New Jersey’s death count remains at 37, according to a spokeswoman from the state attorney general’s office. Other states affected by the storm haven’t reported an increase in the past week.